Battle of Agincourt Battle of Agincourt The English victory over the French king’s army; immortalized in Williams Shakespeare’s play “Henry V”. King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War: picture by Harry Payne The previous battle of the Hundred Years War is the Battle of Poitiers The next battle in the British Battles series is the Battle of Flodden War: Hundred Years War. Date of the Battle of Agincourt: 25th October 1415. Place of the Battle of Agincourt: Northern France Combatants at the Battle of Agincourt: An English and Welsh army against a French army. Commanders at the Battle of Agincourt: King Henry V of England against the Constable of France, Charles d’Albret, Comte de Dreux. Size of the armies at the Battle of Agincourt: The English army landed in France and besieged the port town of Harfleur some 30,000 strong. The siege took its toll, many in the army dying of disease, and a strong garrison had to be left to defend the captured port.

At the Battle of Agincourt Henry’s army was probably around 5,000 knights, men-at-arms and archers. Estimates of the size of the French army vary widely, from 30,000 to as high as 100,000. The attack by Henry V’s army on Harfleur before the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Agincourt: Knights wore steel plate armour of greater thickness and sophistication than at Creçy with visored helmets. Two-handed swords were coming into vogue as the battle weapon of the gentry. Otherwise weapons remained the lance, shield, sword, various forms of mace or club and dagger. Each knight wore his coat of arms on his surcoat and shield. King Henry V prays with his army before the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War: click here to buy this picture The English and Welsh archers carried a more powerful bow than their fathers and grandfathers under Edward III and the Black Prince.

Armour piercing arrow heads made this weapon more deadly than its predecessor, stocks of thousands of arrows being built up in the Tower of London in preparation for war. For hand-to-hand combat the archers carried swords, daggers, hatchets and war hammers. They wore jackets and loose hose; although many were rendered bare foot by the time of the battle from the long harrowing march from Harfleur. Archers’ headgear was a skull cap either of boiled leather or wickerwork ribbed with a steel frame. It is claimed that many of the archers stripped off their upper garments for the battle to ease the use of their bows. King Henry wore a polished and plumed bascinet helmet for the battle, surmounted by a gold crown. His surcoat was emblazoned with the arms of England and France. Winner of the Battle of Agincourt: King Henry V of England won a decisive victory in the battle.

Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War: map by John Fawkes Account of the Battle of Agincourt: On his accession to the throne of England in April 1413 Henry V resolved to revive the war against France and press his claim to the French throne. Fitful negotiations between the two countries resumed, in which Henry made unacceptable demands that the French emissaries rejected with increasing alarm. All the while England prepared for war. Shakespeare imaginatively incorporated into his portrayal of these negotiations a gift from the French Dauphin of a barrel of tennis balls that Henry threatened to turn into cannon shot. Over the winter of 1414 to 1415 the King ordered his officers to commandeer shipping to transport his army, assembling at Southampton, across the Channel. In August 1415 Henry’s army landed at Harfleur and began the siege of the town. Harfleur finally surrendered on 22nd September 1415, no French army having appeared to relieve it. Henry now faced a dilemma. The late departure of the army from England and the unexpectedly stubborn resistance of the Harfleur garrison left little of the campaigning season.

Large forces were assembling round him; the French barons putting aside their fractious quarrelling to confront this foreign invasion; even Duke John of Burgundy sending a detachment to the main French army. Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War: picture by Henri Duplay: click here to buy this picture Henry assembled his council and informed it that he intended to march from Harfleur to Calais, ignoring his councillors’ misgivings at this foolhardy and apparently pointless scheme: Henry could go to Calais by sea with impunity. He had no need to risk his army by marching across the front of powerful French forces and hazarding the crossings of the Seine and the Somme Rivers (with all the difficulties Edward III had encountered before Creçy). King Henry V of England, the victor of Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War Henry sent a messenger by sea to Calais ordering the Governor of the town, Sir William Bardolph, to march to the crossing point in the estuary of the Somme that Edward III had used in 1346 and hold it open for Henry’s army.

On 8th October 1415 the English army marched out of Harfleur on its 100 mile journey to Calais. At the Somme estuary there were no sign of Bardolph and in his place a French force barred the crossing. The French were gathering all around Henry, contingents guarding the bridges and fords along the Somme for a considerable distance. Henry marched south east up the left bank of the river, a French force keeping pace and opposing any attempt to cross. Finally the English army was able to outstrip the shadowing Frenchmen by cutting straight across a bow in the river, crossing and resuming the march north east towards Calais. In the face of the gathering French armies Henry ordered his archers to cut sharpened staves to form a barrier against mounted attack. On 24th October 1415 the English army, led by a screen of scouts, marched through the Picardy town of Frévent, now within 30 miles of Calais and safety. As the army entered the valley beyond the town, the scouts came riding back at speed with the news that an immense army blocked the road.

The French had managed to march past the English and cut across their route during the delay on the Somme. A medieval illustration of the Battle of Agincourt: the opposing Royal Standards are displayed: England on the right; France on the left. The English Royal Standards incorporates the Lilies of France to show the claim of the Kings of England to the French throne: click here to buy this picture A Welsh man-at-arms, David Gambe, on being questioned by King Henry as to the size of the French army, said “There are enough to kill, enough to capture and enough to run away.” Beyond the village of Maisoncelles the French came into sight, a mass of knights and men-at-arms spilling across the valley from the East. Seeing that he could not pass without giving battle Henry ordered his army to encamp and prepare to fight the next day. That evening an air of resignation hung over the English, caused by the heavy rain that began to fall and the enormous French camp two miles up the road, marked in the dark by myriads of twinkling fires, laughter and music: the French had little doubt but that they would prevail the next day.

During the night Henry made his way around his army giving words of encouragement; again a dramatic episode made much of by Shakespeare. The next morning, 25th October 1415, the feast of St Crispin and a public holiday in England, the English army marched out of Maisoncelles, taking up position across the road to Calais in three divisions of knights and men-at-arms; commanded by Lord Camoys on the right, the Duke of York in the centre and Sir Thomas Erpingham on the left. The Archers formed wedged divisions along the front. Further down the road the French army was forming for battle. The Constable of France led the first French line. The Dukes of Bar and d’Alençon led the second and the Counts of Merle and Falconberg led the third. In front of the English position two forests approached the road from each side, leaving an area of muddy plough between them, insufficient for the French army to deploy with ease when every French knight of significance wished to be in the front with his retinue; the mass of knights and men-at-arms too compacted and unwieldy to manoeuvre or control.

The English soldiers knelt down before the battle commenced and kissed the ground as a symbol that they might be returning to the earth before the day was over. Henry’s men waited for the French to begin the attack but there was no movement in the opposing army. It may be that there was inadequate overall command and no central decision made when to commence the assault or it may be that the French were waiting for further contingents to arrive and take their station. The armies clash at the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War Finally Henry, urged to begin the battle by his commanders, gave the command “Forward banners” and the army advanced with trumpets blaring. Once in arrow range of the French Henry gave the command to halt and the divisions closed up, the archers setting their pointed staves in the ground forming a fence leaning outwards towards the French. Now within the confines of the two woods Henry directed parties of archers and men-at-arms to move through the trees nearer to the French.

Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War On the king’s signal the English archers opened a devastating fire on the compact mass of French knights and men-at-arms. After the initial shock the front line of the French army moved forward to the charge. In the narrow confines of the muddy rain soaked ploughland the charge quickly reduced to a stumbling walk, impeded by the floundering men and horses shot down by the archers, the arrow storm from the front compounded by the fire of the English concealed in the woods on the flanks. The battle raged over the stake fence along the English line, the archers abandoning their bows and joining the knights and men-at-arms in hand to hand combat with the French cavalry, much of it now dismounted; the soldiers from the woods attacking on the flanks. Within two hours of the battle beginning it was clear that the English had won. While individual French soldiers fought hard, it was from desperation as the English knights, men-at-arms and archers overwhelmed the struggling mass, taking as prisoner those who might be worth a ransom and killing the rest.

King Henry V and the Duke D’Alençon at the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War The Duke D’Alençon bringing up his division to assist the first line was overcome and about to surrender to Henry himself when he was struck dead. The Constable of France, Charles D’Albret, was killed with numbers of other prominent French nobles, the Dukes d’Orleans and de Brabant among them. The French third line hovered on the edge of the field uncertain whether to take the risk of joining the fight until Henry sent a herald to order them off the battlefield on pain of receiving no quarter. The third line melted away. King Henry V defends his brother the Duke of Gloucester at the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War: click here to buy this picture On the English side the Duke of York died, trampled into the mud, while Henry himself defended his wounded brother, the Duke of Gloucester, against a mob of Frenchmen. The main battle was finished by midday, the remnants of the French army streaming away from the battlefield while the English rounded up their prisoners.

At this point a small French force led by local nobles, Isambart d’Agincourt and Robert de Bournonville, used their local knowledge to march around the forests and fall on the English baggage at Maisoncelles. Fearing a renewal of the battle with an attack on his rear Henry ordered the French prisoners put to the sword, enforcing this order with the threat of hanging, and reformed his army to face the threat. The French raiders were quickly repelled but not before many of the prisoners were killed, an incident that marred the English victory by depriving the soldiers of the considerable sums they could have raised through ransom. The final act of the battle was to disperse the remnants of the third line and ransack the French camp; before resuming the march to Calais, previously so difficult, now triumphantly easy. The French are overwhelmed at the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War Casualties at the Battle of Agincourt: It is believed that some 8,000 Frenchmen died in the battle, including many of the most senior nobles of France. English losses are thought to have been in the hundreds.

The Duke of York died in the battle as did the Earl of Suffolk, whose father had died in the siege of Harfleur the month before. Follow-up to the Battle of Agincourt: King Henry continued his march to Calais and returned to England for the celebrations to mark the victory at Agincourt. His army stayed at Calais but it was too late in the season for further campaigning. Harfleur became an English town for the time being. The French King Charles descended into a bout of insanity on hearing the terrible news of the defeat and France’s losses at Agincourt. French prisoners taken at the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War: click here to buy this picture Anecdotes and traditions from the Battle of Agincourt: King Henry knighted David Gambe as he lay dying in the mud after the battle. After the battle Henry V entertained his senior commanders to dinner, waited on by captured French knights. During the battle an English knight, Sir Piers Legge of Lyme Hall, lay wounded in the mud while his mastiff dog fought off the French men-at-arms.

Only when Sir Piers’ squire and servants came up after the battle would the mastiff allow anyone to approach his master. Sir Piers did not survive his wounds, but the dog returned to Lyme Hall and is reputed to have sired the English Mastiff breed. It was believed among the English archers during the Hundred Years War that the French intended to cut off the first and second right hand fingers of every captured archer to prevent him from again using a bow. The archers raised those two fingers to the advancing French as a gesture of defiance. Lord Camoys, a leading Catholic peer and the descendant of the commander of Henry V’s right flanking division, has his seat at Stonor in the South Oxfordshire Chilterns. King Henry V gives thanks for his victory after the Battle of Agincourt on 25th October 1415 in the Hundred Years War References for the Battle of Agincourt: The Hundred Years War by Robin Neillands. British Battles by Grant. The previous battle of the Hundred Years War is the Battle of Poitiers The next battle in the British Battles series is the Battle of Flodden Battle of Agincourt - Hundred Years' War approx.

24,000-36,000 men Battle of Agincourt - Background: In 1414, King Henry V of England began discussions with his nobles regarding renewing the war with France to assert his claim on the French throne. He held this claim through his grandfather, Edward III who begun the Hundred Years' War in 1337. Initially reluctant, they encouraged the king to negotiate with the French. In doing so, Henry was willing to renounce his claim to the French throne in exchange for 1.6 million crowns (the outstanding ransom on French King John II - captured at Poitiers in 1356), as well as French recognition of English dominion over occupied lands in France. These included Touraine, Normandy, Anjou, Flanders, Brittany, and Aquitaine. To seal the deal, Henry was willing to marry the young daughter of the chronically insane King Charles VI, Princess Catherine, if he received a dowry of 2 million crowns. Believing these demands too high, the French countered with a dowry of 600,000 crowns and an offer to cede lands in Aquitaine.

Negotiations quickly stalled as the French refused to increase the dowry. With talks deadlocked and feeling personally insulted by French actions, Henry successfully asked for war on April 19, 1415. Assembling an army of around, Henry crossed the Channel with around 10,500 men and landed near Harfleur on August 13/14. Battle of Agincourt - Moving to Battle: Quickly investing Harfleur, Henry hoped to take the city as a base before advancing east to Paris and then south to Bordeaux. Meeting a determined defense, the siege lasted longer than the English had initially hoped and Henry's army was beset by a variety of diseases such as dysentery. When the city finally fell on September 22, the majority of the campaigning season had passed. Assessing his situation, Henry elected to move northeast to his stronghold at Calais where the army could winter in safety. The march was also intended to demonstrate his right to rule Normandy. Leaving a garrison at Harfleur, his forces departed on October 8. Hoping to move quickly, the English army left their artillery and much of the baggage train as well as carried limited provisions.

While the English were occupied at Harfleur, the French struggled to raise an army to oppose them. Gathering forces at Rouen, they were not ready by the time the city fell. Pursuing Henry, the French sought to blockade the English along the River Somme. These maneuvers proved somewhat successful as Henry was forced to turn southeast to seek an uncontested crossing. As a result, food became scarce in the English ranks. Finally crossing the river at Bellencourt and Voyenes on October 19, Henry pressed on towards Calais. The English advance was shadowed by the growing French army under the nominal command of Constable Charles d'Albret and Marshal Boucicaut. On October 24, Henry's scouts reported that the French army had moved across their path and was blocking the road to Calais. Though his men were starving and suffering from disease, he halted and formed for battle along a ridge between the woods of Agincourt and Tramecourt. In a strong position, his archers drove stakes into the ground to protect against cavalry attack. Battle of Agincourt - Formations: Though Henry did not desire battle due to being badly outnumbered, he understood that the French would only grow stronger.

In deploying, men under the Duke of York formed the English right, while Henry led the center and Lord Camoys commanded the left. Occupying the open ground between the two woods, the English line of men at arms was four ranks deep. The archers assumed positions on the flanks with another group possibly being located in the center. Conversely the French were eager for battle and anticipated victory. Their army formed in three lines with d'Albret and Boucicault leading the first with the Dukes of Orleans and Bourbon. The second line was led by the Dukes of Bar and Alençon and the Count of Nevers. Battle of Agincourt - The Armies Clash: The night of October 24/25 was marked by heavy rain which turned the newly plowed fields in the area into a muddy quagmire. As the sun rose, the terrain favored the English as the narrow space between the two woods worked to negate the French numerical advantage. Three hours passed and the French, awaiting reinforcements and perhaps having learned from their defeat at Crécy , did not attack. Forced to make the first move, Henry took a risk and advanced between the woods to within extreme range for his archers.

The French failed to strike with the English were vulnerable ( Map ). As a result, Henry was able to establish a new defensive position and his archers were able to fortify their lines with stakes. This done, they unleashed a barrage with their longbows . With the English archers filling the sky with arrows, the French cavalry began a disorganized charge against the English position with the first line of men-at-arms following. Cut down by the archers, the cavalry failed to breach the English line and succeeded in doing little more than churning the mud between the two armies. Hemmed in by the woods, they retreated through the first line weakening its formation. Slogging forward through the mud, the French infantry was exhausted by the exertion while also taking losses from the English archers. Reaching the English men-at-arms, they were able to initially push them back. Rallying, the English soon began inflicting heavy losses as the terrain prevented the greater French numbers from telling. The French were also hampered by the press of numbers from the side and behind which limited their ability to attack or defend effectively. As the English archers expended their arrows, they drew swords and other weapons and began attacking the French flanks.

As a melee developed, the second French line joined the fray. As the battle raged, d'Albret was killed and sources indicate that Henry played an active role at the front. Having defeated the first two French lines, Henry remained wary as the third line, led by the Counts of Dammartin and Fauconberg, remained a threat. The only French success during the fighting came when Ysembart d'Azincourt led a small force in a successful raid on the English baggage train. This, along with the menacing actions of the remaining French troops, led Henry to order the killing of the majority of his prisoners to prevent them from attacking should the battle resume. Though criticized by modern scholars, this action was accepted as necessary at the time. Assessing the massive losses already sustained, the remaining French troops departed the area. Battle of Agincourt - Aftermath: Casualties for the Battle of Agincourt are not known with certainty, though many scholars estimate the French suffered 7,000-10,000 with another 1,500 nobles taken prisoner. English losses are generally accepted to be around 100 and perhaps as high as 500.

Though he had won a stunning victory, Henry was unable to press home his advantage due to the weakened state of his army. Reaching Calais on October 29, Henry returned to England the following month where he was greeted as a hero. Though it would take several more years of campaigning to achieve his goals, the devastation wrought upon the French nobility at Agincourt made Henry's later efforts easier. In 1420, he was able to conclude the Treaty of Troyes which recognized him as the regent and heir to the French throne. Selected Sources 1415 Lego Battle of Agincourt, Hundred Years War - YouTube 1415 Lego Battle of Agincourt, Hundred Years War Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Published on Apr 19, 2013 Almost 80 years into the Hundred Years War, on Friday, October 25, 1415, "Saint Crispin's Day," Henry V of England met the French army led by the Constable Charles d'Albret in Northern France, near the present-day town of Azincourt. This battle was reminiscent of the English victory almost 70 years earlier at the Battle of Crecy: At Agincourt, estimates are that the English were outnumbered from 2 to 1 to as much as 4 to 1. Most of the English were archers and dismounted knights, while most of the French were mounted knights. Some crossbow mercenaries were part of the French force too. But they had a limited range compared to the long bow, and also took a lot longer to reload and re-shoot their weapon. Before the battle, which Henry was actually trying to avoid, he ordered the archers to each find and sharpen both ends of a six-foot wooden stick. These were then hammered into the soft ground of the plain where the battle ultimately took place.

It rained the night before the battle, and there was mud and soft Earth all throughout the battleground. The wooden stakes were pointed outwards, towards the French lines. When the French knights on horseback charged the English archers, many of the horses would not advance through the thicket of sharpened points. Archers picked off horses and knights from a distance and at close range. French knights and men at arms were trapped by their heavy armor in the mud, becoming easy prey for the outnumbered English. French who had not been killed or stuck in the melee fled. Some say that the French knights had issued threats that, if they caught any archers from the English side, they would cut off their inside fingers, so they could not pull back a bow string. To taunt these French knights, the English archers held up their middle fingers to show they still had them. Noble French prisoners, who could have been sold for rich ransoms, were ordered killed after the French retreat. Henry was worried these prisoners would rise up and attack the English from behind if, or when, another wave of French knights appeared to engage Henry. The massacre is not portrayed in this brick film.

August 26 2013 UPDATE: To all the dislikes which Analytics says are coming from France! We know this video is unfair and inaccurate. We promise to animate the French victory at The Battle of Castillon of 1453, the last major battle of the Hundred Years War. And as comments have pointed out, the end of this "war" left England with less French real estate than it had possessed at the beginning of the "war" in the late 1330's. Category Battle of Agincourt - British History - HISTORY.com Battle of Agincourt A+E Networks Introduction On October 25, 1415, during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between England and France, Henry V (1386-1422), the young king of England, led his forces to victory at the Battle of Agincourt in northern France. After further conquests in France, Henry V was recognized in 1420 as heir to the French throne and the regent of France.

Google Battle of Agincourt: Background Two months before the Battle of Agincourt began, King Henry V crossed the English Channel with some 11,000 men and laid siege to Harfleur in Normandy. After five weeks the town surrendered, but Henry lost half his men to disease and battle casualties. He decided to march his army northeast to Calais, where he would meet the English fleet and return to England. However, at Agincourt a vast French army of some 20,000 men stood in his path, greatly outnumbering the exhausted English archers, knights and men-at-arms. Did You Know? The Battle of Agincourt served as the focal point of William Shakespeare’s play “Henry V.” Battle of Agincourt: October 25, 1415 The battlefield lay on 1,000 yards of open ground between two woods, which prevented large-scale maneuvers and thus worked to Henry’s advantage. On the morning of October 25, the battle commenced. The English stood their ground as French knights, weighed down by their heavy armor, began a slow advance across the muddy battlefield.

The French were met by a furious bombardment of artillery from the English archers, who wielded innovative longbows with a range of 250 yards. French cavalrymen tried and failed to overwhelm the English positions, but the archers were protected by a line of pointed stakes. As more and more French knights made their way onto the crowded battlefield, their mobility decreased further, and some lacked even the room to raise their arms and strike a blow. At this point, Henry ordered his lightly equipped archers to rush forward with swords and axes, and the unencumbered Englishmen massacred the French. Almost 6,000 Frenchmen lost their lives during the Battle of Agincourt, while English casualties stood around several hundred. Despite the odds against him, Henry had won one of the great victories in military history. Battle of Agincourt: Aftermath After further conquests in France, Henry V was recognized in 1420 as heir to the French throne and the regent of France. He was at the height of his powers but died just two years later of camp fever near Paris.

Tags The Battle of Agincourt, 1415 The Battle of Agincourt, 1415 Printer Friendly Version >>> The English victory at the Battle of Agincourt gave birth to a legend that was immortalized in William Shakespeare's King Henry V. The battle took place in a muddy farmer's field in northern France on October 25, 1415 and was one in a series of encounters between France and England that has become known as the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). The story begins two months before the battle. Henry and his army had landed in France on August 14 near the mouth of the Seine River. The objective was to regain English territory lost to France over a period of centuries. The first task was to besiege and conquer a nearby town. Henry was successful, but the time-consuming effort took over a month. It was now early October. Henry realized that his reduced force and the limited time left in the campaigning season, meant that he would not be able to press his attack on the French. Instead, he lead his army north in a "show of force" that would end at the English port of Calais and embarkation back to England.

Henry V at the time of the battle. His haircut provides a more comfortable fit for his battle helmet. As the English army marched north, it was dogged by a French force intent on bringing Henry to battle. The French were able to slip ahead of Henry and block his path to the sea at Agincourt. On the morning of October 25, the two armies faced one another on a recently plowed field muddied by an overnight rain and constricted by woodlands on either side. The majority of Henry's army was made up of archers; the remainder consisted of armored knights who fought on foot. His opponent's force consisted primarily of knights who fought on foot and on horseback, supported by archers. Although estimates of the relative strength of the two armies vary, there is no argument that the English were vastly outnumbered. The two enemies faced one another, exchanging taunts designed to provoke an attack. Henry marched his force close enough to allow his archers to unleash a hail of arrows upon the French. The French knights charged forward only to be caught in a slippery quagmire of mud.

To make matters worse, the French attackers were unable to effectively swing their broadswords because of the tight quarters of the battlefield and the continuing forward rush of their comrades behind them. Henry's archers fired lethal storms of arrows into this dense mass of humanity until the French began to retreat. The archers then dropped their bows, picked up what weapons they could find and joined the English knights in slaying their foe. The setting sun left a battlefield heaped with the bodies of thousands of French knights and the cream of France's ruling class. The English had dealt their enemy a disastrous blow. "...their horses stumbled among the stakes, and they were speedily slain by the archers." Jehan de Wavrin was the son of a Flemish knight. His father and older brother fought with the French at the battle. Both were killed. The young de Wavrin observed the battle from the French lines and we join his account as the two armies prepare for combat: ADVERTISMENT "When the battalions of the French were thus formed, it was grand to see them; and as far as one could judge by the eye, they were in number fully six times as many as the English.

And when this was done the French sat down by companies around their banners, waiting the approach of the English, and making their peace with one another; and then were laid aside many old aversions conceived long ago; some kissed and embraced each other, which it was affecting to witness; so that all quarrels and discords which they had had in time past were changed to great and perfect love. And there were some who breakfasted on what they had. And these Frenchmen remained thus till nine or ten o'clock in the morning, feeling quite assured that, considering their great force, the English could not escape them; however, there were at least some of the wisest who greatly feared a fight with them in open battle. ...The French had arranged their battalions between two small thickets, one lying close to Agincourt, and the other to Tramecourt.

The place was narrow, and very advantageous for the English, and, on the contrary, very ruinous for the French, for the said French had been all night on horseback, and it rained, and the pages, grooms, and others, in leading about the horses, had broken up the ground, which was so soft that the horses could with difficulty step out of the soil. And also the said French were so loaded with armour that they could not support themselves or move forward. In the first place they were armed with long coats of steel, reaching to the knees or lower, and very heavy, over the leg harness, and besides plate armour also most of them had hooded helmets; wherefore this weight of armour, with the softness of the wet ground, as has been said, kept them as if immovable, so that they could raise their dubs only with great difficulty, and with all these mischiefs there was this, that most of them were troubled with hunger and want of sleep. ...Now let us return to the English.

After the parley between the two armies was finished and the delegates had returned, each to their own people, the King of England, who had appointed a knight called Sir Thomas Erpingham to place his archers in front in two wings, trusted entirely to him, and Sir Thomas, to do his part, exhorted every one to do well in the name of the King, begging them to fight vigorously against the French in order to secure and save their own lives. And thus the knight, who rode with two others only in front of the battalion, seeing that the hour was come, for all things were well arranged, threw up a baton which he held in his hand, saying 'Nestrocq' ['Now strike'] which was the signal for attack; then dismounted and joined the King, who was also on foot in the midst of his men, with his banner before him. A contemporary depiction of the battle. Agincourt stands in the background. Then the English, seeing this signal, began suddenly to march, uttering a very loud cry, which greatly surprised the French.

And when the English saw that the French did not approach them, they marched dashingly towards them in very fine order, and again raised a loud cry as they stopped to take breath. Then the English archers, who, as I have said, were in the wings, saw that they were near enough, and began to send their arrows on the French with great vigour. Then the French seeing the English come towards them in this manner, placed themselves together in order, everyone under his banner, their helmets on their heads. The Constable, the Marshal, the admirals, and the other princes earnestly exhorted their men to fight the English well and bravely; and when it came to the approach the trumpets and clarions resounded everywhere; but the French began to hold down their heads, especially those who had no bucklers, for the impetuosity of the English arrows, which fell so heavily that no one durst uncover or look up.

Thus they went forward a little, then made a little retreat, but before they could come to close quarters, many of the French were disabled and wounded by the arrows; and when they came quite up to the English, they were, as has been said, so closely pressed one against another that none of them could lift their arms to strike their enemies, except some that were in front... [The French knights] struck into these English archers, who had their stakes fixed in front of them... their. horses stumbled among the stakes, and they were speedily slain by the archers, which was a great pity. And most of the rest, through fear, gave way and fell back into their vanguard, to whom they were a great hindrance; and they opened their ranks in several places, and made them fall back and lose their footing in some land newly sown; for their horses had been so wounded by the arrows that the men could no longer manage them. [The French] men-at-arms without number began to fall; and their horses feeling the arrows coming upon them took to flight before the enemy, and following their example many of the French turned and fled.

Soon afterwards the English archers, seeing the vanguard thus shaken, issued from behind their stockade, threw away their bows and quivers, then took their swords, hatchets, mallets, axes, falcon-beaks and other weapons, and, pushing into the places where they saw these breaches, struck down and killed these Frenchmen without mercy, and never ceased to kill till the said vanguard which had fought little or not at all was completely overwhelmed, and these went on striking right and left till they came upon the second battalion, which was behind the advance guard, and there the King personally threw himself into the fight with his men-at-arms. As the English continued to gain the upper hand, King Henry received news that the French were attacking at the rear of his army and that French reinforcements were approaching. King Henry ordered that all French prisoners be put to the sword - an order his knights were reluctant to follow as, if kept alive, these prisoners could bring a healthy ransom: "When the King of England perceived them coming thus he caused it to be published that every one that had a prisoner should immediately kill him, which those who had any were unwilling to do, for they expected to get great ransoms for them.

But when the King was informed of this he appointed a gentleman with two hundred archers whom he commanded to go through the host and kill all the prisoners, whoever they might be. This esquire, without delay or objection, fulfilled the command of his sovereign lord, which was a most pitiable thing, for in cold blood all the nobility of France was beheaded and inhumanly cut to pieces, and all through this accursed company, a sorry set compared with the noble captive chivalry, who when they saw that the English were ready to receive them, all immediately turned and fled, each to save his own life. Many of the cavalry escaped; but of those on foot there were many among the dead." References: Wavrin, Jehan de, Chronicles, 1399-1422, trans. Sir W. Hardy and E. Hardy (1887); Keegan, John, The Illustrated Face of Battle: a study of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme (1989). How To Cite This Article: "The Battle of Agincourt, 1415" EyeWitness to History, (2006).

The size of the English army has been estimated at 7,000 (including 6,000 archers). The French force may have numbered between 12,000 and 25,000, the majority of these being knights. Agincourt was the name of a near-by fortress. Henry gave this name to his victory. Thousands of arrows to rain down on Agincourt for the first time in 600 years as English and French historians plan to recreate famous battle | Daily Mail Online Thousands of arrows to rain down on Agincourt for the first time in 600 years as English and French historians plan to recreate famous battle Up to 1,000 enthusiasts set to recreate the battle of Agincourt Event will mark 600th anniversary of famous English victory over French On October 25th, 1415, Henry V's 5,000 troops defeated force of 20,000 Henry V took French throne shortly after critical battle of The Hundred Years' War comments The eerie hum of thousands of potentially deadly arrows pouring down on to the field of Agincourt is set to be recreated for the first time in six centuries.

An ambitious project is underway to allow up to 1,000 archers to recreate Henry V’s celebrated victory in northern France. It was 598 years ago today – also a Friday – that the English king’s heavily outnumbered army defeated a French force close to the small town of Azincourt, as it is spelt in French. Relive: Up to 1,000 archers could set foot again on the battlefield of Agincourt to recreate the famous victory for Henry V But the 600th anniversary of October 25th 1415 will be a far more significant one, with historians on both sides of the Channel already suggesting ways of commemorating it. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The Agincourt Alliance, an Anglo-French re-enactment group supported by the town’s historical centre and local tourist agencies, is now proposing a ‘Big Shoot’. The Alliance’s website reads: ‘We want to recreate an arrow storm with at least 1,000 archers,’ adding: ‘We need a minimum 1,000 archer block to try and recreate Henry V's first arrow volley made in 1415.

Each archer will need a minimum 30 suitably specified arrows.’ Brutality: Reenactors want to recreate the drama of the battle captured in this illustration of King Henry V and The Battle of Agincourt Moment in history: There are a few reminders in Agincourt, pictured as it is today, that the fields around the village had been the scene of a pivotal battle between old foes England and France Outnumbered but victorious: Exactly 598 years ago today, the English king's heavily outnumbered army defeated a French force near the small town of Agincourt This means rubber blunted arrows fitted with long wooden shafts and fletched with real white feathers. The Alliance adds: ‘This event will also give an opportunity to historians and academics alike to confirm or review their opinions of this battle, was the English archer as decisive as believed?’ HOW ENGLISH ARCHERS WON THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT When battle commenced at 11 a.m. on October 25, the English army was seemingly destined for annihilation. Numbering around 20,000, the French army was fresh, well-equipped and disciplined.

Their opponents were depleted to about 5,000 men after two months of exhausting campaigning. But it has a secret weapon: their archers. The French were met by a furious bombardment of artillery from the English archers, who wielded innovative longbows with a range of 250 yards. French knights were totally unprepared to meet that weapon. Weighed down with heavy armour and become bogged down on the narrow and slightly upward sloping battlefield, they were a sitting target. As more knights entered the battle they became even more vulnerable to a cascade of deadly arrows. Almost 6,000 Frenchmen lost their lives during the Battle of Agincourt, while English deaths amounted to just over 400. The stunning victory turned the tide for the English during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) for control of the French throne. Henry V was eventually recognized in 1420 as heir to the French throne and the regent of France. But France would go on to eventually win the Hundred Years' War.

A trained archer could shoot six aimed arrows a minute which could wound at 400 yards, kill at 200 and penetrate armour at 100 yards. While Henry’s decisive victory in the 100 Years War has never been in dispute, there have been numerous arguments about the manner in which it was achieved. Some have underplayed the effectiveness of the legendary English and Welsh bowmen who took part, suggesting that more underhand tactics ensured a British victory, which was immortalised by William Shakespeare’s play ‘Henry V’. In the past, the French have even accused their ‘perfidious’ foes of acting like war criminals by slaughtering hundreds of prisoners, many of them knights from noble Gallic families. The narrow field where the battle took place remains remarkably unchanged, and an archery range will be set up across its length. Marching troops dressed in the armour of the period will move towards the archers in what will undoubtedly be the most ambitious recreation of the battle ever attempted. The spectacular commemoration will come at a time when France and Belgium are preparing to mark the significant anniversaries of numerous great battles.

These include Waterloo, which took place in 1815, and many of the great actions of World War I, which started in 1914. Recreations are particularly popular in France, where strict safety procedures are followed to try and stop anyone getting hurt. Cautionary advice on the Agincourt Alliance website reads: ‘All weapons must be blunted... Axes, maces and flails are not permitted on the battlefield during combat.’

Question: In which year was the Battle of Agincourt?
Answer: 1415